Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the first day of Spain's Davis Cup by BNP Paribas first round tie against Switzerland with muscle strain. Spanish No. 3 Fernando Verdasco will now face Marco Chiudinelli in the opening singles rubber.

Nadal's injury comes as a double blow to the tie in Geneva, after Switzerland's No. 1 player Stanislas Wawrinka was rushed to hospital after suffering a serious knee injury in Thursday's practice session and had to pull out of the tie. Nadal is still scheduled to play his reverse singles match on Sunday.